I see from all of the various blogs and news sites that Apple finally has two step authentication with their Apple ID. That's great -- especially with the latest security hole where you can now reset someone's Apple ID password with just the ID and the user's birthday.

Why can't I turn on Two-step authentication? Am I not going to the correct place? I'm trying to follow the directions on Apple's website, but I don't get the two-step verification option.

Response:

When I first went to the Password and Security page. I answered the questions. And then got the normal setting page for Password and Security. But I could not see an option for the two-step. What I missed was its above all the settings. You may be doing the same. Thats an actual screen shot of the top of the Password and Security page and show the "Get started"

Nope. I don't see that...

I'm going to see if I can contact Apple tomorrow on this. Maybe take my Macbook to the Apple Store tomorrow.

From Apple "Initially, two-step verification is being offered in the U.S., UK, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand" - are you in one of those countries?
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vcsjonesMar 24 '13 at 20:55

1

To make sure, I checked my Apple ID address. It's in the United States.
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David W.Mar 24 '13 at 20:59

Had the same problem than the one you're facing ! Until David point out this is only available to some countries ... They are really stupid to make that kind of features not globally available !
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KamiMar 25 '13 at 1:13

4 Answers
4

When I first went to the Password and Security page. I answered the questions. And then got the normal setting page for Password and Security. But I could not see an option for the two-step. What I missed was its above all the settings. You may be doing the same. Thats an actual screen shot of the top of the Password and Security page and show the "Get started"
–
markhunteMar 24 '13 at 23:15

See my RESPONSE in my answer. Unfortunately, I don't see that.
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David W.Mar 25 '13 at 1:48

Unless your password is a complex one and has been changed recently, the most logical problem is that your password isn't new enough for the system to offer you the two-step authorization change.

It is a bit of a pain to change the password (since you will need to change it everywhere - perhaps multiple times on each Computer and iOS device), but once you've made a new password, you should be able to quit your browser and then log in anew and see the request two-step authorization wording and controls.

Do note, that you may have to wait at least 3 days from the time you changed your password to request two-step, and once you request it, you may have a second 3 day wait period to ensure that all the emails Apple sends have a chance to be delivered.

This is to protect you from someone else enabling two-step authentication and allow you to contact Apple and stop your account from being hijacked.

Also, I wouldn't go to an Apple retail store for support with Apple ID. They can't log in to your account or do anything but help you fill out the web form for support. Yes, they may have someone who knows how it's supposed to to work, but your details show you understand how it should work and you might just need to open a support ticket with Apple ID support if you can't enable things yourself.

A little late to the party? I answered this back in April 30th. I tried to do the two step authorization as soon as I heard about it. It didn't get rolled out to my account until 6 weeks later. I was able to do the two step authentication. I just had to be patient. Thanks for answering. Maybe it'll help someone else.
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David W.Jul 26 '13 at 15:52

:) I tried to do this today and may be due to my short attention span I couldn't find a solution so to help people like me I posted the answer here.
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akashJul 26 '13 at 15:57